Visits to Saudi Arabia soared in the first quarter of this year as the Kingdom eyes ambitious growth in the previously nascent sector, targeting over 70 million tourist visits this year, Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin told Reuters in an interview.
The Kingdom drew 62 million visitors last year as the world began to re-open following the global pandemic, and this year, in the first quarter, visits were up 130% in the first quarter compared with the last quarter of 2019.
The data were revealed in comments by Hamidaddin to Reuters on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market held in Dubai.
Hamidaddin also said he thought Saudi Arabia hit a record-high in domestic travel last year.
According to Reuters, Hamidaddin said the Kingdom outperformed much of the world in recovery of its travel sector, reaching 72% of pre-pandemic levels.”
“I’ll say this for the first time…We are witnessing over 130% versus pre-pandemic levels,” Hamidaddin said, adding this pertained to the leisure tourism segment only and did not include religious travel.
